


restless

by black_norse



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Here we go Framework, I enjoyed making this you know, Jiaying is back too, Lincoln is hereeee, Merry Christmas to you here's your fic, S4 where they don't go to the framework and they all live happily ever after, StaticQuake, The Bus Kids are having a little bit of moments too, aos secret santa, foreshadowing S5-S7, nightmares and dreams, or daisy, philindaisy moments, skye gets tortured, yeah that, you asked for torture and i give you this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:15:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28275165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/black_norse/pseuds/black_norse
Summary: You thought you can escape from a nightmare, but you can't, even a pill can't help. Don't trust a robot.
Relationships: Jemma Simmons & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Leo Fitz & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Lincoln Campbell/Skye | Daisy Johnson, Melinda May & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Phil Coulson & Melinda May & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Phil Coulson & Skye | Daisy Johnson
Comments: 10
Kudos: 18
Collections: Agents of SHIELD Secret Santa 2020





	restless

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lovethelivvi2000](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovethelivvi2000/gifts).



> God, I love foreshadowing that I included some at the end of it. Shhh...guess what are they. And also, merry christmas to you!! Here's your secret santa fic and I hope you enjoy it!! (I posted so early because I live on the east side of Earth).

She is lying down on a cold concrete floor. Not tiled, no carpet, just pure concrete, on a dark and enclosed room. The only light coming is from a small opening above her, covered with iron rails. Every afternoon, when the sunlight hit the room it would light up for the only time that day, the sunlight hits the room and it’s the only time the room will every be lit that day, and the only time she ever feels a very warm heat around her, at least she could pull a bit of a smile from its glare. But today was a cloudy day and that wouldn’t happen.

Skye slowly sat from her lying position to so try to ease the painful pressure on the bruises littering her body. Her left arm had a big cut which is slowly healing since she was wounded days ago. She had a white cloth beneath her which she had to use for sleeping and wiping her blood. She sighed heavily, hoping feeding time would come soon. She thought staying at St. Agnes would be better because they always get fed, and that is the only good thing for her in that orphanage. The rest are scary nuns and priests, orphans who did not want to be friends with her, and the boring dormitory room where all she could hear are little kids talking, discussing her. Sometimes, she even heard of them talking about what she looks like and why she looked different from them.

But being kidnapped was much worse. She escaped, hoping someone would find her, a friend, a family, who could take care of her properly and not treat her like others did in the orphanage. And then, she ended up here, to this unknown place. All she remembered was she was on a dimmed street three days ago and her vision turned to black. Then, all of a sudden, she was here. For days, she’s been suffering from the torture, the scratches, all of what those bad guys did to her. She refused to eat what they gave to her every lunch, rotten mushroom soup from a can. It’s only the glass of water that she likes in this place. She can barely even walk and stand because of the extreme hunger and thirst, but also because of the injuries.

It didn’t take much longer before someone opened the only metal door in this room. It was that man again, her captor. The same man who hit her with something, bruised her body, and even fed her the rotten food. He gave her the same psychotic smile, making her even more scared and annoyed.

“How’s my little girl doing?” he scratches through his hair and slid his palm to her cheek. She wanted to move or run, but she felt very paralyzed with fear. She wanted to close her eyes but something prevented her from doing it. Maybe it’s because what the man is doing but that’d be impossible. “Relax, baby girl. Take a deep breath.”

The creepy man took a deep breath, moving his head up as his chest was inflated. And so, Skye did the same thing, listening to what he said:

“Calm your mind.”

Her eyes were locked on the man’s eyes. Her fear slowly started to dissipate as she began to lose focus, not minding her surroundings anymore.

“You know what is best. What is best is you comply.”

And her mind switched focus, and felt like the man’s eyes were zooming towards her. She was frozen and didn’t feel anything now. All she could do was listen to this man’s words.

“Compliance will b-”

“Boss, she’s just a kid!!” his girl assistant shouted from outside. Footsteps approaching towards her and Skye saw her concerned face. “We shouldn’t do that to her.”

“Why do you care?!!” the man snapped at her.

When he broke their eye contact, Skye began to feel what was going on around her again, her fear coming back to her. She was very afraid before the man told that ‘speech’.

“She’s very useful for our future.”

Skye had not moved yet, just stayed still and sat on the floor as she watched the two argue. Now, her agitation is back, but she remained motionless, no idea what to do, where to go.

“I changed my mind, Brenda.” the man rolled his eyes, pulling something out of his right pocket. “I want her dead.”

He pointed the gun at Skye. Her breaths were ragged as she shook her head. “No, please, no!!” she sobbed loudly, but that didn’t help. The man had no pity.

She closed her eyes and bowed her head as she covered her ears, pretending she didn’t see the gun. She won’t hear the gunshot. She won’t see anything around her. Not this room where everything is a nightmare.

_Bang!_

* * *

Daisy woke up from her sleep to a loud bang. She didn’t know where it was or what it was. She gasped, trying to catch her breath she lost during her sleep. She tried to calm herself down and wiped at the sweat dripping down her face.

She still can’t stop thinking about the sound of the gunshot. She wanted to know where it was from but she’s not in a state to move. She didn’t hear anyone shouting or panicking, or even waking her up. Maybe it’s just a nightmare, a horrible nightmare, which would explain her shocked state.

A glance at the wall clock tells her it’s 3:30, too early to be waking up. She went back to her lying position and tried to get back to her nice and comfy sleep, if that sleep was comfortable at all. She closed her eyes, hoping that sleep would happen, but seconds later, she opened her eyes again. She doesn’t want another nightmare. Her nights have been easier since she went back to S.H.I.E.L.D. She missed her comfy bed and her room,but tonight? This night made her uneasy.

* * *

This time of the morning, she was the only one awake in the base. No signs of FitzSimmons working on something in the lab. She always goes there every time she wakes up early at dawn, but they weren’t there this time.

Still, Daisy went inside to grab a cup of coffee. She has nothing to do except trying to forget about what happened earlier. The loudness of the spoon’s _clink_ against the mug as she stirred the coffee sparked something in her memory. Some weird and familiar things.

_“Help!! Help me!! There are guns everywhere!!”_

The sound of the _clink_ faded into another sound, and she can’t take her hands off the stirring spoon.

_“Somebody, help!!”_

Her vision turns blurry as she keeps stirring, losing her focus on what’s around her. Her breaths come fast and shallow again. Shefeels like she just woke from another nightmare, but she hasn’t. She’s just stirring coffee in the lab.

“Daisy.”

Her eyes were open, but she felt like she was falling asleep again. And getting drowsier...and drowsier...until she felt a nudge on her back, disrupting her pattern of stirring and making her drop her cup of coffee in her surprise.

Daisy whirled around and was relieved to see May. “Oh,” she said breathlessly, putting her right hand on her chest as she caught her breath again. “It’s you.”

“Daisy, what’s wrong?” May asked, a concerned look on her face. She could see in Daisy’s eyes that something wasn’t right. “The coffee. Why did you drop it?”

Daisy gave her a half-smile, hiding the fact that that hyperventilation wasn’t nothing. “I was just...shocked...it’s early in the morning...why are you...awake already?” still she even had a hard time speaking.

“What are _you_ doing this early?” May repeated back to her suspiciously. “This is my normal waking time.”

“You wake up 3 in the morning?”

“Three?”

That’s when she realized that it’s been nearly two hours since she woke from the nightmare. Time flew so fast, she didn’t notice it passing by. She was just happy to see May, the first person she saw this morning. “I lost track of time, I guess. And I can’t sleep, May.”

“Oh.” May muttered kindly. “Let me clean this broken mug.”

“No, it’s okay.” Daisy bent to pick up the bits of shattered ceramic pieces of the mug. “I...I can do this. Let me do this.”

“Okay.” May just watched her clean the mess. Just like what she taught her when she was in her teenage years, clean your mess always. She said that she shouldn’t be volunteering. “Since we got up so early, maybe it’s a good time for us to spar.”

Daisy, still looking at the floor while picking up the remaining bits, nodded her head quietly, grateful the edges of these fragments weren’t sharp enough to cut her hands.

* * *

“It’s been a while since we did this together.” Daisy said, as she wrapped both her hands with black covers. She had missed this training room. She had missed the punches and kicks. “It relieves my stress.”

“That’s good.” May nodded, while she finished tying her shoe. Last time they had a sparring session together was over a year ago,before they became busy with planning to defeat Hive. “Now, I’m all set up.”

They both stepped on the training mat, preparing themselves for the start of the session. Daisy stepped her right foot forward, her fists arranged properly set for punching, so did May, but with her usual fierce look on her face. She must pretend they’re both enemies in a fight, but be mindful this is not a real fight, just practice. That was one important lesson May taught her during her early S.O. days.

They faced one another, eye-to-eye, and May threw a punch Daisy didn’t expect but dodged successfully. That was just one punch; reaction time is important.

A punch always came after a dodge, but Daisy did a lot of dodging before she could do her first punch, and then her first kick came, both blocked by May. The quick movements made her sweat, so much that she even almost slipped on the mats. Her huffs became louder to feel the energy, and so her dripping sweat ran into her right eye, irritating it. She blinked in an effort to clear her vision, but it even made it worse., As her blinking became even faster, causing her concentration to slip which led to her getting punched by May. Something about that punch was odd, different. She was used to getting punched, but this one sparked something in her memory.

 _“You think someone can find you here? No, you’ll be here forever, trapped, until you die.”_ She heard somewhere deep in her mind.

“Daisy, what’s wrong?” May asked.

She fell on the floor and sat heavily on the mat.. Her eyes stared at the red training surface below her, but it didn’t look just like a mat to her. It looked like a pool of…

_“You see that? You’ll end up like that if you don’t obey us.”_

…blood.

No, she is not having another flashback again. Please, no. She shook her head, closing her eyes and covering her ears…wait…this happened before.

“Daisy. Daisy? _Are you okay_?”

When May touched her head, she stopped. Her breathing became slower as time went by and was soon normal again. She looked at May, all worried about her. “It’s okay. I’m okay, I…I think I need to rest.”

“Something wrong?”

Daisy shook her head quiet, but she was on her feet almost immediately. “Just give me some space, please.” She unwrapped her fists and wiped her face before she walked away anxiously.

May stood, still wondering what was going on. She wants to call Daisy again, but the way the younger agentacted, May knew better than to call her. That mug incident in the lab and then this one? She had no idea what was happening.

* * *

Many hours had passed since the sparring session and Daisy was still weirdly quiet around the team. Most of them noticed her strange behavior. Whenever they discuss something, she has trouble keeping up with the conversation. May wanted to talk to her but she thought it wasn't the right time, maybe she needs a little space for a bit.

Daisy was in the lab drawing something on her notebook; she doodles when she feels tense. Today though, she tapped her pencil with its both ends on the notebook, thinking of what to doodle. She did not mind the number of people glancing at her while they were working, not noticing or caring that she was distracting them from their work. This is a lab so why the hell is she doing some other stuff here?

Simmons approached her right away. "Daisy, how are you?"

"I'm fine," she answered confidently, with a smile that faded quickly.

"I know there's something wrong with you." Jemma touched her cold hand holding the pencil. "I see it in your face, your doodles on your notebook. Don't lie. May talked to me about what happened earlier."

"That's nothing," she shook her head like there was nothing wrong. "Don't worry about me. I just had a rough night."

"Rough night?"

"Yeah." Daisy yawned in front of her. She can't count how many times she yawned today. "Another night, another nightmare." she shrugged.

"Daisy Johnson," said a robotic feminine voice behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw AIDA. "Having trouble sleeping?" the A.I. asked in her usual neutral tone. If she was a human, that tone could've been more empathetic instead of robotic. "Don't worry. I was just rebooted by Dr. Radcliffe. I am not under the influence of the Darkhold."

"Thanks for the concern." Daisy gave her a small smile, and AIDA replied the same.

"Sleeping pills can help you rest and get away from horrible nightmares," Jemma suggested. "It can help you very much."

AIDA nodded her head. "Yes, sleeping pills are very helpful. For more information about sleeping pills, sleep medications that are available over the counter use antihistamines as their main active ingredient. Nytol, Sominex, and Unisom (the blue capsule form), for example, contain 25 to 50 milligrams (mg) of the antihistamine diphenhydramine per pill."

She had no choice but to listen to her. Guess that'd helped from not attending health class. She was surrounded by her British scientist friend who is very concerned and a nice robot lady sharing scientific information she can't fully process.

Daisy nodded after AIDA finished her spiel.. "Thank you, you two. I think that might help. I'm gonna try those later."

"Though there are side effe-"

"AIDA. I'll take it."

* * *

It was already 9 in the evening, and Daisy was sitting on her bed. Despite the lack of sleep she had gotten last night, she didn't feel sleepy or drowsy, just feeling anxious and tense, as she stared at the sleeping pills Jemma gave to her earlier. She wants to take them because she needs to sleep after all, but she's afraid to have another nightmare again. Since she left S.H.I.E.L.D. After what happened to Lincoln, she had a hard time trusting anyone. So the answer was no. No sleeping pills tonight. Instead, she stares at her red brick wall, hoping the night would pass by and she won't need to sleep anymore.

A few minutes later, she heard a knock on her door.

"Come in!!"

"It's locked."

She was relieved to hear Coulson's voice from outside the door. She eagerly got up from her bed and went there to open it. "Hi."

"Hey." Coulson waved with a grin. "Hope I didn't disturb you from your sleeping."

"No, I haven’t gone to sleep yet."

"Oh." Coulson muttered, sitting beside Daisy's bed. "Just want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine." Daisy shrugged.

" May told me about what happened earlier."

"I was just having a rough night last night. Nightmares can bring back traumatic memories so…" she sighed. "I guess it’s a good thing they gave me these sleeping pills. Jemma had them on her desk. AIDA said it could really help me. I just want to take these to have at least a peaceful night."

"Well, then I think it's time you took those."

"Yeah," she nodded. "Though, AIDA said there are side effects."

"She's right. But if you really need some restful sleep, then it might be worth trying to take those."

"Right," Daisy stared on her sleeping pills placed on her hand.

"But you shouldn't take this yet, we should talk about something before you pass out there." Coulson made a soft chuckle, making Daisy do the same. "Let's talk about what you dreamt last night. It's not helping if you keep it to yourself."

Daisy swallowed, breathing a sigh of relief before starting to talk. "It was that time when I was kidnapped by two Hydra soldiers. When I was fourteen, I was escaping St. Agnes because I didn't want to stay there. I wanted to be found by someone who can treat me better. But then I realized that was a dumb and risky idea and I ended up getting tortured and kidnapped by those agents. I was locked in a room for three or four days. Then, S.H.I.E.L.D. came, May, you, Agent Hill. You took all of them and you took care of me, treated me like I'm your own daughter. Then trained me how to defend myself."

Coulson rubbed her back comfortingly. "That's a horrible dream. You shouldn't have gone through that."

"But at least on the bright side, you found me, right?" Daisy grinned at him and hugged him tightly. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

When she released, Coulson was about to stand, but Daisy stopped him. "Wait, Coulson, can you stay here for a moment?"

He hesitated. He knew he had some work to do, and sleep is also important for him, but instead of walking away, he sat back beside her. "Sure."

"Might be nice if I have someone here beside me while I sleep. You know, just watch me here." she snickered lightly. "I just want to make sure I'm going to be okay.Don't worry, you can be free to leave or do whatever you want after thirty minutes or so. I'm sorry if I distracted you."

"Don't be sorry." Coulson touched her hand. "And I can stay the night if you want."

"Oh." Daisy gave him a big smile, feeling gratitude and love for her father figure. "That's..."

She stopped talking and let herself experience the tingle around her. "There's a couch there, Coulson."

"I would love to lie down on your soft couch. We're the ones who changed this when you weren't here." He sat on the black couch and bounced on it a few times. "See, comfy as it is."

She saw his satisfied look, and she was reassured with him there. After all, she had a companion in her own bedroom to make sure she was okay. She took her sleeping pills and drank her water before she laid down, burying herself with her soft blankets and feathered pillows. She soon felt the cloudy and dizzying effects of the sleeping pills by the time her head touched the pillow. "Good night, Coulson."

"Good night, Daisy."

* * *

When they said sleeping pills could make her sleep peacefully, they didn't say your dreams won't happen anymore. This time, instead of a concrete room, she was here at a place in the mountains. The red-colored arches, the houses and structures that are very familiar to her. And this concrete pavements with plants lining the walkway.

She had been here before: "Afterlife."

She looked around, taking in her surroundings. Everything felt so peaceful and quiet;no one was there. It was a calming quiet, in a space of her own.

The sun was at its peak, shining brightly above. Her favorite spot was the cliffside where she saw the other mountain and practiced how to control her powers, causing an avalanche. She was here with her mom, Jiaying, before the woman had almost killed her.

And Lincoln, who first brought her here. Lincoln, Lincoln, why did she think of him suddenly, Lincoln? "Lincoln," she whispered his name. That is not good, she's moving on, moving on from pain, moving on from what happened. She didn't expect to see anyone here, and she didn’t especially expect the nudge she felt on her right shoulder.

"Daisy," said a familiar voice, one she recognized immediately. She turned around and faced him.

"Lincoln," she smiled broadly. Never having felt happier than this moment, she immediately went to him and pulled him for a tight hug. "You're here."

"Always here, Daisy."

They both released from the hug, moving to kiss one another instead. Daisy felt that warm and light feeling once again. She put her palm through his hair and slid down to his cheek. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too. But now we're together, so you don't have to be sad, okay?" Lincoln wiped her tears with his thumb. "I'm going to take you somewhere."

"Where?"

"The place where only we can know. They're waiting for us."

"They?" Daisy asked confused. She thought it was only Lincoln who was here with her, but she wouldn’t be disappointed. "Is it Coulson and May?"

"No," he shook his head. "Better."

If it wasn't Coulson and May, and if it was better, she doesn't have the answer for that. "Who is it?"

He didn't reply. He held her hand as they walked together to a house nearby. The porch was full of bonsai trees, and weirdly, there were lemons placed on their squared-shaped blue pots which she seemingly didn't care about at all. The door opened and she didn't expect who she saw...

"AIDA?"

"Agent Johnson." she greeted with her bland tone, delivering a smile and tilted her head. "Happy birthday."

"Birthday?" she had no idea what was happening but she went with it anyway. "AIDA is here. Lincoln, maybe they're he-"

"Shhhh...be quiet. They can hear us."

She kept her mouth shut, wondering what's coming next. She saw a digital clock on top of the door frame which says '4:93am' which is very weird because there isn't a 9 on the minute place.

"That clock is so wrong by the way." Lincoln said to her, which she already knew.

"I know, right?" she smirked.

"You don’t know what’s coming.”

“Coming what?”

They waited for a few seconds before the second door opened, and she was shocked to see who it was waiting for her..."Mom."

"My Daisy," Jiaying smiled with her open cuts on her face. "You're here."

"Why are you here?" she bit her lip and frowned.

"I'm here with a guest." Jiaying turned to her right and someone appeared from the shadow, wearing his usual shirt and black pants.

"Fitz?" at least she felt a bit of a relief when he saw him. "Where are the others?"

"Your mom is gonna teach me how."

"How what?"

Jiaying came closer to her, with her hand on her pocket, obviously attempting to conceal something. "Daisy, it's time."

She didn't understand. What is this? Why are they here? What are they gonna do to her? "It's time for what?"

"It's time," Lincoln and Fitz said in unison.

And what the hell is this? She had no idea what was happening. "I'm confused, can someone tell me what this means?"

Jiaying finally lifted her hand up and Daisy saw a...scalpel in her hand. Her eyes grew bigger and felt heavier on her heart. "What...what...what is this, mom?"

"It's time for you to become like me." Her smile had a different meaning now. What was once a smile from a happy mother morphed into a psychotic smile of a serial killer.

"Mom!!"

"Let's grab the stem cells later, I'll start on the face now."

" _Mom!!"_

"I'm sorry, Daisy. This is the only way the prophecy can be fulfilled."

"I don't understand. Lincoln what’s this?!! Fitz?!!"

"Daisy, keep quiet."

"Mom, no...no...no."

And the scalpel was drawn closer on her eye, making her scream louder. "Mom, no, no, no, no!!"

* * *

" _Noooo_!!"

She emerged from the dark and realized it was all a dream...again. Her breathing was rough and panicked again.She thought those pills could really help her have a peaceful night, but the opposite had happened instead.

All she felt were metal parts and wires hanging her head which she didn't know what this was for. "Coulson!!"

No one answered, maybe Coulson was asleep.

"Coulson!!"

Again, nobody answered, and she started to panic again.

She thought she was alone in her room again, but she was wrong. Someone appeared from the dark, and she knew the face. "AIDA, it's you."

"Agent Johnson, I'm scanning your brain. You are also part of a simulation that I made."

"For what?" she touched the metallic helmet hung on her head. "This is for the scanning?"

"Don't move. I’m making you an LMD."

"AIDA!!" she screamed in anger, she thought this robotic lady was done being evil. "I thought you got rebooted.”

“Turns out you’re wrong.” AIDA said menacingly, reaching to choke Daisy with her right hand, smiling that creepy, wicked smile again. “I’ll end your nightmares.”

“Nooo…” there was no voice, only the gagging sound she can make when there’s no breath in her airway. She felt so heavy and tired as the edges of her vision began to go black, she couldn’t fight back or defend herself from AIDA.

“You can’t use your powers, you’re very weak.”

She raised her hand to quake her, but AIDA’s other hand stopped it and twisted her hand painfully. She wanted to scream but she couldn’t. This felt like another nightmare, only worse because this felt very real. Her eyes were wet and red, realizing she cannot stop a strangling robot. Her vision tunneled, and still she tried to get some air through her windpipe.

Suddenly, the grip loosened, she didn’t know what happened because she was nearly unconscious, but she felt more oxygen coming through.

“Daisy!!”

“What did she do to you?!!”

“AIDA put her into the framework.”

She fell, and luckily got caught by someone’s arms. “Don’t worry, Daisy, she’s not gonna hurt you anymore.”

And she knew that voice, she had just heard it in her dream. Her eyes slowly opened on a blurry figure forming into a clear shape. “Fitz.”

“You’re awake.” He touched her cheek and wiped her dripping tears.

“You’re not with my mom?”

“What?” he muttered, with his eyes full of questions and wonder. “Who?”

“Fitz, she’s not well.” Coulson approached them, touching Daisy’s forehead.

“Daisy, stay with us.”

She tried to stay awake, though she was breathing again, she still felt dizzy and her vision blurred once more.

“You’re safe now.” was the last thing she heard before she slipped fully into darkness.

* * *

She felt a gentle touch on her cheek when she gained consciousness. Everything went back to normal but she felt a bit weak at first. Maybe it is just the pillow. She looked to her left and there was May sitting beside her bed.

“May” her voice cracked, leading to a quiet sob. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“You’re safe now.” May gave her a warm smile and scratched through her hair gently. “AIDA is dead. Radcliffe is captured. You have nothing to worry about.”

She rested her head on May’s hand, letting the tears fall. “Where are the others?”

She heard the door opening. “Is she awake?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, we brought some food.”

Daisy turned her head on the other side and saw FitzSimmons and Coulson coming their way and bringing some bags full of something. “Baby back ribs, oranges, veggies.”

“That’s…food.”

She did not respond, instead, just grinned at the sight of them. Coulson bent down and reached for her. “I’m sorry that happened to you. My bladder was full and didn’t know AIDA was coming. Gosh.”

“Coulson, don’t be sorry. Important thing is…everyone’s here. I’m safer than before.”

“Just know I’ll never leave you ever again, even when I need to go to the bathroom.”

“Oh.” Daisy chuckled lightly. “You just need to keep an eye out.”

She went laid back against the pillows once again. Jemma and Fitz checked on the dextrose bottle, while May and Coulson were beside her, watching her every move.

This felt like a dream, but it wasn’t a bad one this time. This time she was happy, and it was better because everything was real. It made sense that she was on the hospital bed, lying down and resting with her loved ones nearby. No more nightmares, no more fake realities, just happy times.


End file.
